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013
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE WASHINGTON 25, D. C.
Refer to
BUREAU OF STATE SERVICE
DEC 5 1963
Honorable Stewart L. Udall
Secretary of the Interior
Washington 25, D. C.
Dear Mr. Secretary:
This letter is in response to your request of August 26, 1963, for review and comments on your Department's Pacific Southwest Water Plan.
Your analysis of the problem from a regional standpoint is meritorious. The report reflects much insight on many aspects of probable economic growth and change in the area. The need for additional water to meet future economic growth is well demonstrated.
The proposed plan, however, does not give adequate consideration to the necessity of reuse of water as a means of meeting the future growth requirements. Reuse is directly dependent on quality, a situation already of problem proportions in the area. Quality can be maintained and improved by controlling water use and disposal practices. We believe that in planning for further water resources development primary consideration should be given to reuse and the quality factors adversely affecting reuse. The proposed plan defers these quality considerations to future examination and study.
It appears to us that a basic promise of the plan is that all the waters allocated by the Colorado Compact will be available for consumptive use. This promise accepts that all costs incurred because of quality diminution from uses in the upper reaches should be imposed on users in the lower reaches. Included among these costs are desalting, operation and maintenance in community systems, reduced satisfaction in households and other personal uses, increases in agricultural expenses necessitated by purchase of larger quantities of water to maintain functional soil properties, decreases in crop yields, and increases in drainage operation expenses.
c e v- v/s sol

013
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE WASHINGTON 25, D. C.
Refer to
BUREAU OF STATE SERVICE
DEC 5 1963
Honorable Stewart L. Udall
Secretary of the Interior
Washington 25, D. C.
Dear Mr. Secretary:
This letter is in response to your request of August 26, 1963, for review and comments on your Department's Pacific Southwest Water Plan.
Your analysis of the problem from a regional standpoint is meritorious. The report reflects much insight on many aspects of probable economic growth and change in the area. The need for additional water to meet future economic growth is well demonstrated.
The proposed plan, however, does not give adequate consideration to the necessity of reuse of water as a means of meeting the future growth requirements. Reuse is directly dependent on quality, a situation already of problem proportions in the area. Quality can be maintained and improved by controlling water use and disposal practices. We believe that in planning for further water resources development primary consideration should be given to reuse and the quality factors adversely affecting reuse. The proposed plan defers these quality considerations to future examination and study.
It appears to us that a basic promise of the plan is that all the waters allocated by the Colorado Compact will be available for consumptive use. This promise accepts that all costs incurred because of quality diminution from uses in the upper reaches should be imposed on users in the lower reaches. Included among these costs are desalting, operation and maintenance in community systems, reduced satisfaction in households and other personal uses, increases in agricultural expenses necessitated by purchase of larger quantities of water to maintain functional soil properties, decreases in crop yields, and increases in drainage operation expenses.
c e v- v/s sol